The big story

Last year could not have possibly come to a more disappointing end for the Bulls. They were able to win the top seed in the East with a 50-16 record despite enduring repeated injuries to MVP point guard Derrick Rose (ankle, toe, groin), and figured that with Rose back and prepared for the playoffs, they had a chance to put together a deep run. But with 1:22 to go in their playoffs-opening win over the Sixers, Rose drove into the lane and reacted awkwardly after making a jump-pass. By the time he was being helped off the court, it was obvious something was very wrong. And then word came: Rose had torn the ACL in his left knee.

With that, a team that seemed poised to annually challenge the Heat in the Eastern Conference has been thrown into disarray. Rose could miss the entire 2012-13 season, as he had surgery in May and the recovery is expected to take 8-12 months. When he does come back, it might not be at 100 percent—in fact, he may never reach the level he achieved as the league MVP. There have been remarkable advances in the treatment of knee injuries, of course, and Rose could return to his former glory. But that’s no guarantee.

In the meantime, the Bulls will play out this year and see how things go. They brought back old friend Kirk Hinrich in the offseason and he will get the starting job in place of Rose. They’re also taking some encouragement out of the fact that they played 27 games without Rose last year and were 18-9 in those contests. Of course, the bigger problem is that they could not get past the eighth-seeded Sixers in the playoffs once Rose went down.

There are some pieces in place here, despite the fact that management had to stick with a very slim payroll in order to avoid the luxury tax. Some key backups are now gone—most notably center Omer Asik and point guard C.J. Watson—so the Bulls are taking chances on end-of-the line veterans like center Nazr Mohammed, guard Nate Robinson and forward Vladimir Radmanovic to fill the gaps.

Still, the Bulls have a strong starting five, with the frontcourt of center Joakim Noah and power forward Carlos Boozer having played very well during Rose’s absence, and small forward Luol Deng looking for a bounce-back season. In the East hierarchy, the Bulls must still be considered.

Keep an eye on

Many scouts were high on point guard Marquis Teague coming into this year’s draft. He certainly got lost in the shuffle among Kentucky’s bigger-name prospects like Anthony Davis, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist and Terrence Jones, and received criticism for his lack of pure playmaking skills. That’s what allowed him to drop all the way to the Bulls with the No. 29 pick. All things considered, though, Teague is a talented, athletic player who could turn out to be better than his brother, Hawks point guard Jeff Teague.

As bad as the Rose injury is for the Bulls, it will turn out to be an opportunity for Teague to establish himself right away. With Hinrich turning 32 in January and shooting guard Richard Hamilton 35 in February, Teague figures to be set for plenty of rookie playing time. Chicago did bring in shooting guard Marco Belinelli and 5-9 Nate Robinson, but they are known commodities who will play only bit roles with this team. Teague has the potential to run the team, play off the ball and be a solid defender, which is exactly what coach Tom Thibodeau wants from him.

Strategy session

It’s funny to recall that, when Thibodeau was a guard for Division III Salem State in Massachusetts, he was known as a defensively soft shot-chucker with no conscience. Here in the pro ranks, of course, he has helped to revolutionize the way teams play defense, and it has been the bread-and-butter of his success.

Boosted by league rule changes that eliminated illegal defenses, Thibodeau’s defensive philosophy focuses on pressuring strong-side ballhandlers, forcing them toward the baseline and allowing active, long big men to create problems for would-be penetrators. It has worked brilliantly in all of his NBA coaching stops, and one reason Chicago has been able to hold steady with Rose injured is that the Bulls have had the big men required to employ his system.

This year will be slightly different, though, because Asik—an ideal defense-minded big man for Thibodeau—is gone to Houston. Replacing him is Mohammed, who is nowhere near the defender Asik is at center. Thibodeau will continue to use the same defense, of course, but minus one of its best practitioners, he’ll need to make adjustments.

Outside view (from and Eastern Conference scout)

“I know (Carlos) Boozer disappointed a lot of people that first year in Chicago, and I think that was warranted. I don’t know how comfortable he was playing in Derrick Rose’s style of offense, where he does not need Boozer to run pick-and-rolls all the time to get free. But he has come back and looked really good last year. He seemed to be in good shape, he got his shot back and he played really well offensively. His defense was and always is his problem. They’ve got Taj Gibson behind him, and he is a great defender. So there is only so much you can do with Boozer as far as keeping him on the floor, but there was definitely improvement last year, and that’s got to give you hope for this year.”

Inside view (from coach Tom Thibodeau)

“We think we have the right characteristics. The challenge for us, the biggest challenge, is going to be to get seven new players on the same page as quickly as possible. For the most part, the new guys have been here, through the summer and fall. The fact that Kirk (Hinrich) has played with some of these guys helps. … My expectations are always the same, and that’s for our players to put everything they have into each and every day, to strive for improvement, play our best basketball the second half of the season. I don’t know where we’re going to end up, but I like the makeup of the new guys. I like the makeup of the guys who are returning.”

Our view

Chances are that Rose will come back to the team sometime after the All-Star break. The Bulls have said he is on schedule, and Rose is saying he is ahead of schedule. That would make sometime in March—nine months after his surgery—a logical return date, though that is a guess and Rose’s progress could be slowed. Even without him, though, the Bulls have been a resilient bunch, and they should be able to keep up with the best teams in the East as long as they don’t suffer any other significant injuries. They’ll probably rank just below the deep, young Pacers in their division, but ahead of conference upstarts like the Knicks and Nets.

Projected rotation

Luxury-tax concerns limited the Bulls’ moves in the offseason, and there are some retreads here. But the starting five is very good, Gibson is solid and Teague provides some potential for the bench to be better than expected.